Why Britain needs a minister for AI August 8, 2019 With the nation in a state of economic and political uncertainty, Britain’s newly appointed Prime Minister looks to technology to rejuvenate and refocus the country. He announces “a major national effort to bring advanced technology and new processes into industry”, launching the government’s first ministry of technology. Tech experts across the country rejoice as policymakers [...]
Commerzbank warns its 2019 profit target now looks ‘ambitious’ August 7, 2019 Germany’s second-biggest lender Commerzbank said its net profit was unchanged in the second quarter from a year earlier, as it described “a very challenging environment”. Commerzbank, which was set to merge with its bigger rival Deutsche Bank this year before the deal fell through, said its target of a slight year-on-year increase in net income [...]
Workspace giant IWG launches £100m share buyback scheme August 6, 2019 Office space provider IWG has launched a £100m share buyback and increased its dividend. The company, which operates under the Regus brand, increased its interim dividend 10.3 per cent to 2.15p per share as it announced it would repurchase £100m worth of shares by 5 August next year. Read more: Workspace giant IWG posts double [...]
Starling to break even as bank customers double August 4, 2019 Starling Bank is set to break even in the UK by the end of 2020, its founder and chief executive has said, after revealing that its user numbers have doubled in the last eight months. In her annual letter, Anne Boden said the fintech firm’s account total – spanning both business and retail users – [...]
BT eyes £80m sale of legal software division Tikit as it focuses on full-fibre August 4, 2019 BT is said to be lining up a sale of its £80m legal software business as it looks to focus its efforts on rolling out full-fibre broadband across the UK. Tikit, which provides lawyers with software for time recording and case management, has been added to a list of fringe BT businesses up for sale, [...]
UK leads EU venture capital, but Brexit could threaten its dominance July 31, 2019 The UK is continuing to dominate European venture capital (VC) deals thanks to a rise in mega rounds but uncertainty over the movement of talent post-Brexit could hit the sector hard, a new report has cautioned. UK VCs totalled 63 per cent of Europe-wide deals during the first half of the year, driven by a [...]
A box office approach to leadership could yet break the Brexit deadlock July 31, 2019 A week into Hurricane Boris, and the impact of its arrival shows no signs of abating, nor does its box office appeal. Godfather style, a trail of bodies litter the Conservative backbenches, victims of the “Night of the Blond Knives” as one newspaper called it. The ancien regime has been largely replaced by Vote Leave [...]
Lawsuit opened over Capital One data breach which hit 100m customers July 30, 2019 A class action lawsuit has been filed in the US over a data breach at Capital One bank that saw about 100m US customers have their personal information stolen by a hacker. Read more: Equifax fined up to $700m for massive data breach Roughly 140,000 social security numbers and 80,000 linked bank details were stolen, [...]
Forget a one-size-fits-all immigration policy – we need to get creative to protect the talent pipeline July 30, 2019 Different sectors of the economy are often accused of special pleading when it comes to making their case for immigration reform. In any given area, improving the skills base can boost productivity, and with the clock once more ticking down to the Brexit deadline, calling into question the status of future EU applicants, it is [...]
London Stock Exchange in talks to buy data analytics firm Refinitiv for $27bn July 28, 2019 The London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) is in discussions to buy data analytics firm Refinitiv for $27bn (£22bn) in a blockbuster deal that could see the company take on Bloomberg. The exchange group confirmed it is in talks with Thomson Reuters and a consortium of funds linked to private equity firm Blackstone to acquire the [...]